Pheonix Flight
by Caliko
Summary: NarutoHarry Potter crossover, Part One takes place at Hogwarts, Part two in Konoha. On the night before the 2nd Chunin exam, Naruto was kidnapped by Dumbledore's pheonix, Fawkes.  Why?  Because Naruto had a stranger family than he knew..s
1. Prolouge

Phoenix Flight

By Caliko

**Prologue**

Eleven year old Naruto Uzumaki stood in the weird, circular room, glaring at the flaming chicken that sat on a golden perch. The perch was in the east side of the room, sitting beside an open window. In front of him sat an ornate desk with feathered quills and rolled up scrolls. Behind the desk sat an old man who seemed to have worse taste in clothes than even Naruto himself. He was wearing a dress and half-moon glasses. Not just any dress, but an extremely bright orange dress that seemed to make even his jumpsuits look dreary. Little silver stars twinkled on his sleeves, and his chest was covered by the longest beard he had ever seen.

Poor Naruto really didn't seem to know what was going on. One moment, he was in the beautiful, tropical village of Konoha, the next he was somewhere that felt quite different. All he could think, was that it was that chicken's fault.

He had been in his room, minding his own business and packing for the second part of the Chunin exam, when that… that THING appeared in a ball of fire. The next thing he knew, it had latched onto his pajama top and kidnapped him! Minutes later, he appeared in the middle of the strange office.

The old man leaned forward at his desk and tipped his eyeglasses forward to look over them at the boy. A puzzled frown graced his lips, and he quirked his eyebrow at the genin. With a glance at the bird, he asked, "Fawkes, is there a reason why you have brought this child to me?"

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded, "and is that your bird?" The blond chaos magnet didn't even bother trying to keep his temper. Unfortunately, the old man ignored him. "Yo! Answer me, dammit!"

Fawkes chirped a long string of notes, almost as if he were laughing. The old man seemed to understand, amazement flashing across his face, and his eyes twinkling with humor.. "Very interesting. Are you sure?" Another string of notes followed. "Hmmm… Yes, I see. Of course. I will have to contact the Japanese Ministry for a demonologist so that we could exercise the kitsune before he could start classes, but I have a feeling the boy would not be too upset about that."

At this, Naruto panicked. He didn't know what was going on, but he did know what would happen if the furball was taken. Who the heck was this guy, anyway? "Sir, I'll die if the fox is removed! Besides, I don't know you! For all I know, the stupid villagers might have hired you to kill me!"

"Kill you? Nonsense, my dear boy! As for who I am, my name is Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If Fawkes is to be believed, and he is never wrong, I'm also your magical guardian. You're Grandmother left me the responsibility of finding you, as well as placed me in charge of your estate until you reach your majority."

"Grandmother? What are you smoking? No one knows who my family was."

Albus smiled, knowing in his infallible way that he was about to make the child extremely happy.

"Fawkes tells me that you are Naruto Uzumaki, son of Namikaze Minato and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina was part British. Her mother, your grandmother, was Abigail Smithers. Abigail was my goddaughter. Very sweet girl, but she had a tragic end." Dumbledore sighed. "She was only sixty-five when she died of a broken heart. Her marriage to your grandfather failed, and her only child, Kushina, followed your grandfather back to the hidden elemental countries. She lost contact with Kushina about a month before your birth, but your parents had already told her that you were a boy, and they had decided to name you Naruto. She left everything to you in her will. There is a sizable estate in Kent, as well as a very large vault in Gringotts."

Dumbledore sat back then, watching as the boys face danced through every emotion. Shock, awe, hope, joy - it was all there. His eyes twinkled even more than normal. He really enjoyed surprising children.

Naruto was speechless. He would even say his mind was quite broken at being told all of this. He knew his parents names. All his life, he wanted to know that. He had always wondered who they were, if he had family, a clan, anything at all. Did he look like his dad, or his mom? Was he an only child when he was orphaned, or were there other children in the village that might be his siblings. He wanted to believe the old man in front of him, but was desperately afraid that it might be an evil trick from the people that hated him. But, then again… it still wouldn't explain how he changed climates in seconds. That, and he left his apartment at night, and the sun was near noon here. That seemed to settle his mind a bit. He would believe the old man. "Where they shinobi?" It didn't matter, really. They could have run a restaurant and he would have been happy.

"Your father was leader of the village… I believe your mother called him a Hokage? She had come to Konoha with a group of refugees from another village. If I had known that you were an orphan, I would have come for you myself. Unfortunately, believing that you were being raised by your family, I could not until you reached school age, and that only if you inherited the ability to use magic. Your mother could not, by the way. It was for that reason why she left with her father. It is difficult living in the wizarding world without magic."

Once again, Naruto's mind stopped working. His father was the Hokage? There was only one Hokage that it could have been. His hero, the Yondaime. The same bastard that earned his respect for sacrificing his life for the village's survival, but earned his curses for choosing him, as well. He knew that it had to be done. The Kyuubi would have destroyed Konoha. Now he knew that the Yondaime spared his village one other thing as well. No one had to give him a child to contain the fox, because the Hokage didn't ask for one. No other family would suffer for their happiness, only his own. Naruto didn't know whether to be pissed or proud, and the chicken seemed to realize it.

With a small flap of wings, Fawkes flew over to his knee and perched. Moments later, an unearthly melody began to fill the room, washing away all anger and confusion. It soothed and calmed the fox vessel, letting him think rationally. 'At least the chicken had some use.', he thought. 'but magic?'

"Is magic like Chakra?"

Dumbledore leaned back, thinking. "Close. The two can mimic the same results, of course. However, there is one major difference that tells me that they are different. With chakra, almost anyone with the correct training may use it, and everyone has it. A living being may increase their reserves by keeping both their mind and their body fit. However, it is mainly used for defense and offense. Magic, on the other hand, is a trait that is selective. Simply being alive does not guarantee it's presence, and the wizards reserves only increase with age. It is more versatile, as well. It may create, clean, defend, attack, amuse, as well as track. Wizards and witches incorporate magic into every moment of their lives, which is why someone without magic, like your mother, would never be happy in our world."

"And you say that I have magic?" Naruto's mind had calmed down with Fawkes influence, allowing the normally hyperactive brat to think clearly.

"My dear child, your name would never have been on our lists if you did not."

The possibilities began to tease at the young shinobi's mind. A power that can do all that, in the hands of a notorious prankster, in a place, like Konoha, that has absolutely no experience with it. He couldn't stop the foxy little grin that was playing on his face. He seriously had to learn how to use it. But first…"You said that your going to get rid of the fox." Naruto reminded the Headmaster. "But I've been told that I would die if he was removed."

"Normally, using chakra techniques, this would be true. However, as I've said, magic is more versatile, and our healing methods are more advanced. It would be Childs play to temporarily anchor your soul to your body long enough to exercise the kitsune's. The demon would go through the gate back to the Makai, which would close immediately afterwards. This would completely sever your soul from his, and we would be able to heal any damage caused to you before we dispel the artificial anchor and let your natural want and need to stay alive resume the task. Hence, you will not die."

Naruto blinked, before screwing his face up. He really didn't understand what the hell the old man just said, but it sounded impressive. He knew that he was smarter than the villagers thought, but this guy was on a whole new level than him. "What will happen to Kyuubi after that? Will he be able to come back and attack Konoha?"

"Not at all, dear boy. Demons can only leave the Makai when they are summoned. The demonologist that I will be contacting may also lay a geas, or a command that must be followed, that would keep the Kyuubi from ever attacking humans again. He would simply go on with his life in the demon realm, and you would continue on in the mortal realm."

"I have to talk to the Old Man…." Naruto mumbled. "I have to be dreaming…"

"If you ask Fawkes nicely, I'm sure that he would be willing to send a message to your village. I'm sure that you would like him to stick around long enough to acquire some clothes?"

The young shinobi blushed, realizing that he had been speaking to the old man in his pajama's and sleeping cap. Then again, he smirked, it was still better than wearing a dress…

Night had fallen over the shinobi village, lending cover to the many Anbu and Oinin that patrolled the streets. The Chunin exams were underway, and this year it was Konoha's turn to host them. The hotels were packed with foreign nins that were competing for their village's prestige, as well as the out of town families of the shinobi of fire.

In the topmost office of the administrative tower, an old man dozed at his desk. A small trickle of blood leaking from his nostrils were the only clue as to what the strongest ninja in the village dreamed about. Every once in a while, the old man giggled in his sleep, content that everything in his village was running smoothly.

Behind him sat an open window, letting in a breeze that cooled the otherwise stifling heat of a tropical night. The dark shadows of buildings could be seen through it, as well as the imposing visages of the former Hokage's that had been carved into the mountain that looked over the village.

Suddenly, a brief flash of fire lit up the darkened office, startling the old leader awake. His feet immediately fell off of the scarred, wooden desktop to slam into the polished wood of the floor. The Hokage stood, instantly ready for battle, only to relax and stand down at the sight of the legendary bird of fire.

Fawkes chirped around the letter in his beak, pure amusement shining from his beady little eyes. It was moments like this, that he realizes why he hung around humans. They were always good for a laugh! He flew over to the old man and dropped the letter at his feet before settling down on the windowsill.

Night had fallen over the shinobi village, lending cover to the many Anbu and Oinin that patrolled the streets. The Chunin exams were underway, and this year it was Konoha's turn to host them. The hotels were packed with foreign nins that were competing for their village's prestige, as well as the out of town families of the shinobi of fire.

In the topmost office of the administrative tower, an old man dozed at his desk. A small trickle of blood leaking from his nostrils were the only clue as to what the strongest ninja in the village dreamed about. Every once in a while, the old man giggled in his sleep, content that everything in his village was running smoothly.

Behind him sat an open window, letting in a breeze that cooled the otherwise stifling heat of a tropical night. The dark shadows of buildings could be seen through it, as well as the imposing visages of the former Hokage's that had been carved into the mountain that looked over the village.

Suddenly, a brief flash of fire lit up the darkened office, startling the old leader awake. His feet immediately fell off of the scarred, wooden desktop to slam into the polished wood of the floor. The Hokage stood, instantly ready for battle, only to relax and stand down at the sight of the legendary bird of fire.

Fawkes chirped around the letter in his beak, pure amusement shining from his beady little eyes. It was moments like this, that he realizes why he hung around humans. They were always good for a laugh! He flew over to the old man and dropped the letter at his feet before settling down on the windowsill.

Arching his brow, Sarutobi picked up the letter and leaned against his desk to read it. As he recognized the handwriting, an uneasy feeling began to sink into his chest.

"Dear Old Man,

I'm writing to let you know that I won't be able to take part in the Chunin exams. Heck, I probably won't be able to return to Konoha until next summer! It's not my fault! I was kidnapped by that funky flaming chicken!

Anyway, It seems that I have a guardian outside of the Elemental Countries. My grandmother, (Mom's mother), left him custody of me until I'm 17. He's enrolled me into this really weird school where I can learn to use magic like Mom's family!

He's also in charge of my estate. Did you know that I'm rich? Hey, did Dad leave me anything when he died? If so, can you continue to take care of his stuff? Headmaster Dumbledore has been taking care of the Smithers' estate for me, so you don't have to worry about that.

Love,

Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto

P.S. - can you send some clothes back with Fawkes? All I have are the pajama's he kidnapped me in!"

The Hokage groaned. Already, he had a headache and his stomach was turning. This was bad, very bad. The Council was going to have a field day about the disappearance of the boy. They would probably try to have him court marshaled when he returned as a missing nin! For that matter, Danzo has never forgiven him for not giving him Naruto for his Root division, so he would cause problems just to piss Sarutobi off!

He didn't know who this Albus Dumbledore was, but Kushina did tell him about her youth in England. He knew about magic, as well as the fact that Naruto had a grandmother still there. He hadn't known that the boy was wealthy, not that it mattered. The man must be legitimate, since he had been the only one that knew of Naruto's heritage. If this Dumbledore told Naruto, then he could only have learned from the boys real grandmother.

Sarutobi sighed, then signaled his Anbu to come in.

"How may I help you, Hokage-sama?" Cat asked.

"I need you to summon Kakashi, and then bring me a few outfits that would fit Naruto."

"Sir?"

"Naruto has been summoned by his legal guardian to attend school in England. Unfortunately, the phoenix took him in his pajamas. I need to send him some clothes back to England with the bird."

Cat's eyes bulged out behind his mask. Kakashi-sempai was going to be upset that he was missing his student, even more so once the Uchiha realized that he wouldn't be able to finish the exam without a third team mate. Cat didn't even want to think about the council, but he knew that the villagers would be happy to get rid of the boy. That is, until they realized how it would affect the Uchiha's progress!

"Well, it's not my problem." He thought, saluting the Hokage. Without anymore wasted time, he hopped out of the window. Within moments, he was banging on Kakashi's window.

"Hokage wants you immediately." He said, as soon as the jounin opened his window.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked. It was unusual to be called in the middle of the night with no warning, not unless something big happened.

Cat shrugged, then sighed. He really did deserve some advanced warning. "Naruto is no longer in Konoha. His guardian sent a phoenix to take him."

"What guardian? Damn it all! This has to be one of Naruto's pranks! Besides, there's no such animal as a phoenix! They Only exist in children's stories!"

"Kakashi-sempai… I know what I saw sitting in Hokage-sama's window… it's a phoenix." Cat hunched, as if he was apologizing, then took off. He had to get the brat some clothes. At least, he can separate the knucklehead from his orange jumpsuits!

Kakashi was agitated as he arrived at the tower. Sarutobi, noticing his anxiety, simply handed the silver haired man the letter. A few minutes later, he remembered what name Naruto signed, and gulped. That was a genin mistake, and he should have known better than to make it!

"Is it true?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowed. He hadn't been aware that his sensei's child survived that night. More importantly, the old man blatantly lied to him when he had asked!

"Yes. It was Minato's last wish to keep his heritage a secret until he made Chunin. He did not want his son to be hunted down by assassins from other countries. However, neither of us thought that he would be able to use magic, as his mother couldn't. Since he can use it, he needs to train in it so that he doesn't destroy something by accident. I had no idea that his grandmother died, much less that she appointed a guardian to the boy if he was magical."

"I'm going to England to be with him. I was supposed to be his godfather, and I've done a shitty job of it so far." Kakashi stated, his tone firm. "My team won't be able to go farther in the exams. You can tell the council that they felt that they weren't ready, and that I took them on an extended training trip. That will keep them for trying to have Naruto labeled a missing nin."

"You plan on taking team 7 with you, then?" Sarutobi said, interested. He knew that he wouldn't have to explain the problem to the jounin. Kakashi was a genius, after all. More than that, he was right. It was a brilliant plan, when he thought about it.

"Yes. I'll tell them that we are to investigate his disappearance, and to ascertain if it is legitimate. Once there, I will remind them that they won't be able to finish the exams, and that we will stay there to improve on teamwork and personal abilities before the next exam. Sasuke should be angry enough that he'll go just to beat the crap out of Naruto for leaving, Sakura will go because Sasuke is."

"Alright. Go pack and collect your team. If you could throw a bag together for Naruto, it would be appreciated. However, don't worry about clothes. Cat is acquiring clothes for the boy, and knowing him, it will be something completely free of the color orange." Sarutobi said, dryly. He, himself, had been trying for years to get Naruto to dress appropriately. Physical distance from the abomination of style would do what he could not.

Kakashi snickered, as if he were reading his thoughts. He, too, had tried to talk to Naruto about blending in with the scenery, and only got a spiel from the boy about improving his stealth by making it harder. If anything, at least this mess would improve the boy's wardrobe.

'

An hour later, the jounin and his team landed in the same strange office that Naruto had, looking at the same strange old man, and blinked. The old man that he assumed was Dumbledore had even worse taste in clothes than Naruto……


	2. Chapter 1

Hey, I'm posting this now, because I have to get a new keyboard.. I'm using an onscreen keyboard right now -good enough for chats, but that's it. I'm going to try to get one this weekend, and will work on either making this longer, or starting chapter two where this leaves off. I'm really sorry for the short chappie.

I forgot to add this on the prologue, So I'll do it now. I own nothing! Not the settings, nor the characters, nor the canon plots (which I won't use much of anyway). What I do own? My warped, twisted sense of humor and a couple of muses that have been slacking off since my Gundam Wing writing days. (Cracks whip - get to work, you lazy brats!)

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, as well as put me on their C2's, favorites, and story alerts! I'll try to earn my place! Caliko

Phoenix Flight, Chapter One, "Can you say, 'sucker'?"

By Caliko

Kakashi was going blind as his eye caught the bright orange dress that Dumbledore-san wore. It didn't help that his highly trained eyesight, which normally paid attention to everything that moves, insisted on following the paths that the silver shooting stars followed over said dress. They twinkled and moved in the most distracting manner, causing the Jounin to only hear about half of what the old man was saying.

"I'm sorry, Dumbledore-san, but can you repeat that?" He asked, forcing his gaze from the atrocity.

The Headmaster chuckled, knowing full well what the man was experiencing. You didn't get to be his age without enjoying the mental torture of the young. He had based his entire wardrobe with that in mind, after all.

"I was saying, Mr. Hatake, that you will have to stay at young Naruto's house. While I can't deny that you have the right to stay in England, if only to satisfy the apprenticeship contract with the boy, I also can not allow non-magical people to stay on campus. Also, your other two students will have to enroll in a muggle high school to satisfy British law. Luckily, there is one not far from the Smithers Estate. As for Naruto, he will only be allowed off campus on the weekends, and that, too, is only to satisfy his apprenticeship with you."

"I'm sorry, Dumbledore-san. That is unacceptable. While Naruto's ninjutsu is good for his age, and his stealth is excellent, his other skills are not. To be blunt, I plan on improving his taijutsu and genjutsu while he is away from the village. My team must meet daily in order to do so."

The old Mages eyes twinkled faster, and Kakashi could have sworn that the bird was laughing at him. He could almost hear the phoenix cackle 'sucker!' as the Headmaster cleared his throat.

"Hmm. Well, I suppose… Mr. Hatake, I have been meaning to begin a physical fitness program in our school. It had come to my attention that many of our young has increasingly gained weight to the point of obesity. I suppose, if you would like to teach that class, that you may have more access to Naruto. You will be able to teach your other two students when they get home from their own schooling, and work on your teamwork on the weekends. Naruto has been telling me what type of missions children their age do, and I can testify that Hogsmeade could supply such jobs for them to work on."

Kakashi was getting a bad feeling about this. He didn't even want to teach the students he had, and now he was being told that the only way he could spend quality time with his newly discovered godson, was to teach a school of brats how to be healthy! "I can see that I have no choice but to accept your offer, Dumbledore-san." He sighed. The entire situation was getting ugly. While he would be able to work with Naruto daily, he wasn't looking forward to telling Sasuke and Sakura that they were heading back to school. "If you could show us the way to Naruto's house, it would be appreciated. It was very early in the morning when we left, and I'm sure the kids are exhausted."

An hour later, the four shinobi and Dumbledore arrived at the Smithers estate via the floo. Sasuke and Sakura were giving Kakashi the evil eye, due to the Headmaster's 'helpfulness'. The Old Man didn't seem to trust the Jounin enough to tell the two right away about their schooling. Kakashi, in turn, was avoiding their eyes. For the next few weeks, he would have to be careful about poison in his breakfast cereal, but at least he didn't have to tell them himself. Naruto and the Headmaster seemed to be the only two happy, it seemed.

That is, until Sakura seemed the mansion that she would be living in for the next year or so. She was running everywhere, conveniently forgetting that she was merely a guest.

Naruto had to admit, it was a damn bit better than the measly two room apartment he lived at in Konoha. However - it was a bit dark to his taste. Where he enjoyed bright, cheerful colors, the room was lined with dark paneling and a grey marble floor. There were some paintings on the walls, some he noticed moved like the ones In the headmasters office. All but one seemed to look down on him, as well. The woman in that portrait was shaking, her handkerchief held to her lips.

"Uncle Albus?" She called to the Headmaster, "Is this him?"

"Ahh. Abigail. Yes, my dear, this is Naruto." The Old Man placed his palm on top of Naruto's shaggy head, and led him to stand in front of the portrait. "Mr. Uzumaki, this is your Grandmother, Abigail Smithers."

Naruto blinked, still not used to near living portraits, then shook his head to loose his confusion. "Hello, Grandmother." He said, carefully pronouncing the English words. Dumbledore had performed a spell allowing him to understand all forms of English, but it still felt strange on his tongue.

"My." The woman in the portrait smiled. "Not much of your mother in your looks, but perhaps that means that you don't have a redheads temper. Still, you are a rather good looking boy. I suppose that you will be spending some time hiding from your fan club."

"Huh? Why would I have one of them?"

Sakura, who had been eavesdropping, snickered. Sure, she liked Sasuke-kun, and thought that Naruto was an idiot, but even she had to admit that he was adorable. "Ma'am?" She said, smiling. "Naruto is oblivious to how girls look at him."

Abigail laughed. "Now that, he gets from his grandfather! Now, who are you three?"

Dumbledore smiled, then said, "The lovely girl who spoke to you is Sakura Haruno. She is on Naruto's team in Konoha, along with the dark haired boy, Sasuke Uchia. The other man is their teacher."

ok - it's just a tease. sorry again - Caliko


	3. Chapter 2

I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter, and I make no money from this fic.

A note on this fic is on my new page, h t t p / calikosworld . wetpaint . Com /

It's new, and bare bones, but feel free to add commentary… or even to post any of your own orphan plot bunnies.

I backed up, and began chapter two where the gang first entered the Smithers' mansion.

Phoenix Flight, Chapter Two - Portraits, Tea, and House Elves

By Caliko

An hour later, the four shinobi and Dumbledore arrived at the Smithers estate via the floo. Sasuke and Sakura were giving Kakashi the evil eye, due to the Headmaster's 'helpfulness'. The Old Man didn't seem to trust the Jounin enough to tell the two right away about their schooling. Kakashi, in turn, was avoiding their eyes. For the next few weeks, he would have to be careful about poison in his breakfast cereal, but at least he didn't have to tell them himself. Naruto and the Headmaster seemed to be the only two happy, it seemed.

That is, until Sakura seemed the mansion that she would be living in for the next year or so. She was running everywhere, conveniently forgetting that she was merely a guest.

Naruto had to admit, it was a damn bit better than the measly two room apartment he lived at in Konoha. However - it was a bit dark to his taste. Where he enjoyed bright, cheerful colors, the room was lined with dark paneling and a grey marble floor. There were some paintings on the walls, some he noticed moved like the ones In the headmasters office. All but one seemed to look down on him, as well. The woman in that portrait was shaking, her handkerchief held to her lips.

"Uncle Albus?" She called to the Headmaster, "Is this him?"

"Ahh. Abigail. Yes, my dear, this is Naruto." The Old Man placed his palm on top of Naruto's shaggy head, and led him to stand in front of the portrait. "Mr. Uzumaki, this is your Grandmother, Abigail Smithers."

Naruto blinked, still not used to near living portraits, then shook his head to loose his confusion. "Hello, Grandmother." He said, carefully pronouncing the English words. Dumbledore had performed a spell allowing him to understand all forms of English, but it still felt strange on his tongue.

"My." The woman in the portrait smiled. "Not much of your mother in your looks, but perhaps that means that you don't have a redheads temper. Still, you are a rather good looking boy. I suppose that you will be spending some time hiding from your fan club."

"Huh? Why would I have one of them?" Naruto couldn't quite wrap his mind around on the fact that he could be cute if he tried.

Abigail blinked, then leaned back into her painted chair. "Well, son, you are handsome, extremely rich, cheerful, and you have the most amazing eyes that I have ever seen in the entire time I was living. Why wouldn't you have a fan club?"

Sakura, who had been eavesdropping, snickered. Sure, she liked Sasuke-kun, and thought that Naruto was an idiot, but even she had to admit that he was adorable. "Ma'am?" She said, smiling. "Naruto is oblivious to how girls look at him."

Abigail laughed. "That, he gets from his grandfather! Now, who are you three?"

Dumbledore smiled, then said, "The lovely girl who spoke to you is Sakura Haruno. She is on Naruto's team in Konoha, along with the dark haired boy, Sasuke Uchia. The silver haired man is their teacher, Kakashi Hatake. Mr. Hatake has recently agreed to start a physical fitness and wellness program at Hogwarts."

At this, the painting smiled. "Good! In my day, children were not encouraged to be lazy! Albus has told me on his visits that he couldn't understand why so many of his students didn't have the energy to climb the stairs in one go, or why so many of the children were constantly in the infirmary for indigestion! I've been telling him for years that he must do something to encourage the students to exercise!"

At this point, Kakashi grinned. He liked this woman.. Er.. painting. Whatever, he appreciated her just saying her mind. "I'm glad you approve, Abigail-san. I will be sure to tort.. Um.. teach them well"

A brief pop sounded in the room, drawing their attention to a short, grey thing with huge bug eyes and bat-wing like ears. It was wearing a pillowcase with a stylized 'S' on the front, under which hung a bright pink apron. "Master Albus!" The thing shrieked happily, "Yoos come visit!"

"Ahhh.. Tatty. Yes, I've come and brought your young master and his friends."

Tatty looked at each of the kids, his ears twitching with excitement. He stared, long and hard at both Sasuke and Sakura, before setting his gaze on Naruto. "Young Master! I's is Tatty! I's elf for th' first floor, and I's watch th' floo!" He then through himself down on the ground in a bow, his face nearly touching the marble flooring.

Naruto shuddered. This was just.. Wrong somehow. "Ahhh! Get up! Get up! The name is Uzumaki Naruto, not young master! Call me Naruto!"

Tatty stood, his eyes going even wider somehow. Did he upset the young master? "I's sorry! I's try t' do better!" He then began to bang his head into the ground, forcing Naruto to grab him into the air.

"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything!" He looked at Dumbledore, "What is wrong with him?"

"I's not bad?" Tatty breathed a sigh of relief. "Master Naruto forgives Tatty!"

Dumbledore smiled benignly. "Tatty is a house elf. They serve wizarding families because that is what they enjoy doing. To disappoint their master is the gravest error that could be done, and so they will often punish themselves if their master does not forbid it before hand."

Naruto growled, "Are they slaves?" He really didn't like the sound of this.

"We prefer the term, 'servants.'. If they are not bound, then they age quickly, and lose most of their magic. They enjoy serving their masters, and consider it a grave insult if you free them. While it is true that many house elves are not treated kindly, the Smithers have always been kind to their elves."

The blond nodded, not really understanding, but he did understand one thing. "Tatty, you will inform any of the other elves that belong to me that I will not permit physical punishment. If they really feel that they deserve punishment, then whoever supervises your people will not allow them to do their favorite job that day."

"Master Naruto is kind! Mean," He glares at the shinobi, "but kind!"

Abigail, in her frame, snorted. "I should have thought of that years ago."

Awhile later, Dumbledore sat with the shinobi in the dining room, his eyes twinkling at how Sakura was playing 'lady of the manor'. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes, while Naruto was looking hopefully at the pink haired girl. Kakashi, however, ignored everyone, only lifting his eyes from his book periodically.

"Forget it, Naruto." Sakura growled, noticing his face. "I don't care if you have money - I'm still not going to date you."

"Bit$&" Kakashi coughed into his hand, going back to his reading. The Kunoichi looked at him across the polished expanse of the dining room, wondering if she had really heard what she thought she had.

"Did you say something, Sensei?" She asked, missing the smirk on Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke, in turn, coughed into his hand, mumbling, "Psycho.."

Tatty, who had been serving lunch, twittered, keeping low. He had been mated for ten years, and even he knew that females of all species where dangerous when pissed.

Slowly, Sakura turned towards Sasuke, hoping that she hadn't heard what she thought she had just heard. After all, Sasuke would never say something mean about her, would he? "Excuse me?" She asked, her lower lip trembling, and her pride arguing with her fan-girl tendencies. "Sasuke, what did you say?"

Naruto's eyes grew wide. On one hand, his love might just give him a chance if Sasuke broke her heart, (or at least some rebound action.), on the other - he didn't want Sakura to cry. Oh, screw it. "Sasuke didn't say anything, Sakura-chan! That was me! I was thinking about that crazy lady that jumped into the testing classroom at the exams."

Sakura sighed, deeply, before picking up her fork to finish eating. She knew damn well that Naruto hadn't said anything, and she was grateful for him giving her a way out of her temper tantrum. The vein had started throbbing in her forehead, and her mouth had already spoke before she realized that she was about to attack her idol. She knew that Sasuke could be cruel, and she knew that he wouldn't be interested in her when she was too weak to contribute much to the team. She also knew that he would crush her with his words if she gave him a chance, and she had done just that. The pink haired girl owed Naruto one… and it really pissed her off owing the idiot for anything.

Dumbledore shook his head, sighing. He never could understand how young people could be so cruel to each other. The fact that they were shinobi probably added to their cruelty, though it seemed to have desensitized them to it, as well. Hopefully, that would leave young Naruto with a nice thick skin for when he dealt with certain purebloods. That reminded him…

"Naruto, since we have finished eating, there are some things that I need to caution you about. Our society, on a whole, is categorized into three groups: the purebloods, the half-bloods, and the muggleborn. Pureblood wizards are those that can count back at least three generations of having only wizarding ancestors. Half-bloods, of course, have both, and muggleborn wizards are magical children born from nonmagical families. I, personally see no difference in the three groups. I have met both weak and strong people from all three. The problem, however, is that there are many bigoted people who would condemn you for being a half-blood."

"I won't start anything with them, sir, if that's what you're asking." Naruto said, staring down at the wood grain of the table. Nervously, he began to play with the chopsticks that Tatty had found for him.

"No, my boy. I didn't think that you would. However, I was afraid that you might finish a confrontation if forced into it." Dumbledore really didn't want to have this conversation, but, alas, it needed to be said.

"Of course I would! I'm not a coward!" Sasuke and Sakura nodded, agreeing with their team mate. Unfortunately, this was the wrong reaction.

"Mr. Uzumaki, in the shinobi world, you would be quite correct. However, in the western world, and by that, I mean in both the wizarding society as well as the muggle, nonmagical society, that is the wrong answer. Fighting could lead to serious injury, if not to you, then to the person who had insulted you. The person who had insulted you could have strong connections politically, possibly criminally. Not to mention, it is considered ill-bred to their sort to result in physical violence. Verbal arguments can be conducted in a well thought out, controlled environment. As for private magical duels, I have been known to become temporarily deaf and blind if it is a situation that will resolve itself and improve the climate between antagonist. As long as low level spells are used, and not dangerous ones, I will not act. Dangerous spells will, however, result in immediate expulsion to both students involved. Prank spells are encouraged, as our resident spell customization teachers can attest to. Physical violence in an educational environment, however, will result in more difficulties. Not only will you have to attend detentions, but the other students may condemn your actions. It will lead to difficulty in you fitting in."

Naruto nodded. He didn't like it, but he understood.

Dumbledore continued. "Your best course of action is to be openly seen as you practice your martial arts. I am assuming that Kakashi has some katas to teach you?" Kakashi nodded, seeing where the Headmaster was going with this. "People will hesitate to start trouble with you, if you are open and honest about your abilities. If, when the rest of your class exercise, you do your katas, the students will see that you can and will easily injure them. They will stay to the level of verbal hostility, or pranking quietly if they do not like you, and stay far enough away not to instigate a physical fight."

Sakura nodded, and added her advice. "Naruto-baka, you have to keep your pranking mask up to avoid enemies, but be super serious about your martial arts practice. Don't practice your ninjutsu, though. That will just bring on questions we can't answer. You need more taijutsu work, anyway."

"Alright, Dumbledore-san, Sakura-chan. I understand. I have to try to fit in better, so no one looks too closely at what I am, since shinobi try not to be well known outside the elemental countries."

"Correct, Naruto! Martial arts is a very popular sport, worldwide, so you will gain respect from most of the students, and if done correctly, it will take peoples minds off where you grew up. Since Japanese is your native language, just tell them you grew up in a small village in Japan. And now, since I have some work left to do, I will let you rest. I will be by in a few days to take you shopping for supplies, Naruto, as well as to bring in temporary guardianship papers for Sasuke and Sakura so that they may be enrolled into the muggle high school. And so, if you excuse me for now?"

"Thank you, Headmaster." Kakashi said, standing, his students following suit. "We will see you then."

"Oh, yes. That reminds me. The spell I used so that you may understand English should wear off in roughly two weeks. Tomorrow, I will bring four crystals that may be used to sharpen your memory to near photographic. It may be a good idea to look up English language texts in the library. I believe Latin is also taught in nonmagical high schools, as well as an elective at Hogwarts, if you learn languages quickly."

Sakura jumped, turning to the old man. "Naruto-baka has a library?" She squealed. "And we'll be able to understand what's written?"

Dumbledore smiled. It seemed as the young lady would have been a Ravenclaw if she had the magic. "Yes, dear girl. You will."

Sakura quickly bowed, then ran for the door, calling for Tatty.

"Wait, Sakura. Now isn't the time." Kakashi called, as she stopped.

"Good day, Children." Dumbledore said, smiling as he left.

Kakashi nodded, then looked at his students. "I want the three of you in bed, sleeping. Tatty will show you where you will sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow, including finding Naruto a taijutsu style that actually fits him."

The two days flew by with the team working on their taijutsu and ninjutsu. Naruto had been worked hard enough that not only did his normal hyperactiveness fail him, but he could barely move. Sakura was working on her chakra reserves, and began to study some anatomy books that she had found in the library, While Naruto learned to streamline his fighting style so that he wouldn't waste so much movement, while not sacrificing power. Kakashi actually decided that Naruto had to perfect the basic style taught at the academy before he could conceivably learn a different form.

He had also decided to teach all three of his students how to use a weapon. All three preteens were excited by that. None of them knew what, yet, but they weren't going to let their lazy sensei run away from this!

On the third day, Dumbledore arrived at the manor carrying a plain muggle folder. Inside, he told Kakashi, were birth certificates and guardianship papers that he had arranged through the muggle prime minister. "And this is for you, my boy."

Naruto took the heavy envelope from the headmaster, immediately noticing the strange seal on the back. It portrayed a quartered shield, showing four different animals, with 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' on the top, and 'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus' underneath. The envelope was addressed to 'Naruto Namikaze, Smithers Manor, Kent'.

"Namikaze?" Sakura asked, looking over his shoulder. "That's not your last name! Oh, it figures! We finally find out that you have something good going for you, only to find out that your stealing someone else's money!" With that, she smacked him upside the head, ignoring his growling.

"Wasn't that the Yondaime's name?" Sasuke asked, looking, as if for the first time, at Naruto. You could almost see him going through a mental checklist: Blond Hair, check. Blue eyes, check, Dad used to say that the Yondaime was hyper, check. Also said he was a ramen addict, Chec- OH SHIT! "Got something to tell us, Dobe?"

Said Dobe sighed, running his hand through the back of his hair. "Uzumaki is my mother's name." Then, not wanting to really talk about it, as it wasn't his reputation they were amazed at, Naruto turned away and opened his letter. Reading, he asked the Headmaster, "Where can I get all this stuff?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly, "Why, Diagon Alley, of course!" He then turned around and grabbed the floo powder from the mantle. "Now, children. Do what I do, say what I say, and keep your elbows tucked in closely!" And in a flash of green fire, and a call for "The Leaky Cauldron", the strange old man disappeared.

The Konoha shinobi blinked at the empty fireplace, then slowly, turned their heads to look at Naruto. Eerily, they all wore the same, sadistic smirk. "After you, Dobe. If you burn to death, we can all go home."

"I feel so loved."

(A/N) Still short, I know, but definitely better than the last chapter! Next stop, Diagon Alley! Look for it in about a week, week and a half! (I'm craving FMA at the moment.. Anyone know any Fem!Ed/Roy fics?)


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer - I own nothing but the plot.

Before I begin, I was wondering if anyone would like to adopt a plot bunny? Details are here:

h t tp/calikosworld. wetpaint. com / page /Harry+Potter+Plotbunny+231

Just remove the spaces…

A/N - this is TOTALLY AU. Voldieshorts died freakishly before he made his first horcrux, Peter never betrayed the Potters, and Harry, (currently 3rd year), grew up hiding from his father's and adopted uncles' pranks.

Phoenix Flight

Chapter Four - The Four Kings of Chaos

Naruto stepped out of the floo, slighting tripping over the andirons before he balanced himself out. The room he stepped into was tiny, grubby, and dark. It was also nearly empty, save for a suspicious set of men chortling at the bar. Nearby, sat three older kids, sighing, watching the men with long-suffering expressions on their faces.

Suddenly, the middle kid looked up, his green eyes widening in horror as he spotted something over Naruto's head. His prank instincts screamed, prompting Naruto to jump further into the room. The blond turned back toward the fireplace, just in time to see Kakashi get slimed with something purple as he had stepped through. Naruto snorted, giggling, "Glad that wasn't me!"

"I'm sure." His sensei dryly said. "It seems you're not the only prank master anymore."

"OI! Sorry, mate! That was meant for someone else." One of the three men at the bar spoke. "Names Sirius Black." He came forward, offering his hand, then inched it away as a bit of slime fell from Kakashi's fingers. "You might have a bit of trouble with fan girls for a while. That stuff is full of veela pheromone."

His sandy-haired friend rolled his eyes, then waved his wand, cleaning the substance off of the Jounin and the floor. "You could have offered to clean him up, Siri."

Sirius huffed, turning to him. "He's come through the floo, I figured he was a wizard. You are a wizard, aren't you?"  
Kakashi growled at the man. "No. I'm here with Headmaster Dumbledore and my students to outfit one of them for school."

"Oops?" The third man grinned, then approached to make peace.

"Hi. I'm James Potter, that's Remus Lupin, and you already met the mutt. We heard that Dumbledore was going to be here today, and that he was to meet a man we've been pranking since we were kids." At Kakashi's slightly outraged expression, he waved his hands to cry pax. "Trust me, no one deserves it more than him! Anyway, we promised we would hold off on the torture this semester. Dumbledore thought it would be a bad influence on the students. So.."  
"You figured to get one very lame prank in before you had to be responsible adults?" Kakashi drawled. "Are you three professors?" He was seriously reconsidering this entire self-appointed mission. All he needed was his personal junior prank master to get inspired.

"How can you tell?" Sirius asked, eyes crinkled as he laughed.

"Genius shows, Padfoot!" James crowed.

"Basic Spell crafting. Third year and above." Remus quietly put in. His face was scrunched as if he were in pain. "I'm really sorry about this. Sometimes, I don't know how I let myself get talked into these things…"

"Hmmm. Hatake Kakashi." Kakashi said, holding out his hand. "I'll be teaching physical education this term. My godson, Namikaze Naruto, will be attending as a first year." Kakashi pointed out Naruto. "The other two are Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. They will be attending a non-magical high school this year."

"Hello, to all three of you. It's a pleasure." Remus nodded, discreetly waving his wand at the Jounin's back. "I suppose that we'll see you at Hogwarts."

The wolf noticed that Dumbledore had been standing in the corner talking to Tom. "Headmaster, How was your morning?"

Dumbledore smiled knowingly, but only replied, "It has been delightful, Remus. But now, we need to be going. Plenty of stores to visit, and sights to see."

He then turned, heading towards the alley, biting his lip to keep from chuckling. Oh, this was going to be amusing!

The shinobi hurried to follow, not once stopping to wonder if something just might be a bit off about the whole meeting. Once the door closed behind him, Remus sat down, smiling as the two marauders stared at him.

"Suck up." Sirius bitched.

"Let's go." Remus replied. "I don't want to lose sight of them."

"Remus… what did you do?" James asked, eyebrows raised. He sounded very amused.

The Werewolf didn't answer as he headed over to the kids. "Do you three want to see your new phys ed teacher embarrassed?"

Hermione shrugged, but stood up, followed by Harry and Ron. "We have nothing better to do."

"Seriously, Remus.. What did you do?" James demanded.

"Let's just say, that even if the prank was lame… he had no right to come out and say it."

The six wizards managed to catch up to the shinobi plus Dumbledore fairly easily. None of them were in a hurry, and the kids were gawking at the sights. People would stare at them as they passed by, but Dumbledore was the only one who knew why, and he wasn't talking. Finally, it was one giggle too much.

"What's wrong with you people?" Naruto yelled, frustrated. "Haven't you ever saw Ninja before?"

Sakura smacked him upside the head, groaning. "Naruto, you idiot! Didn't you ever read your history book at the academy? The elemental countries are hidden from the rest of the world! They backed away from civilization during the age of the Roman conquerors! If they have ever seen a ninja, it was either a fake in costume, or they didn't know he was a nin! Besides… something tells me that that's not what they are laughing about."

"Huh?" The blond scratched his head, then looked at the rest of the group that were walking ahead. Choking, he suddenly understood. "Sakura-chan…"  
"Hmmm?" She was in the process of turning around to join Sasuke, Kakashi, and the Headmaster.

"I think I know why everyone is giggling at us… the thing is, I don't want to be the one to tell Kakashi-sensei." His lips twitched. Whoever had done that was his type of person. It was an amazingly simple prank, or would be with magic.

"Why?" She glanced at Kakashi, then swallowed a shout. "Oh boy… He's going to throw a fit."

"Yeah. Who knew that he wore 'Lil Nin' boxers?"

The two looked at each other and lost it. "I thought that 'Icha Icha' was the only thing he read!" She snorted, leaning against her team mate.

He smirked. "Well, he's obviously a manga fan…. Maybe we should buy him some for his birthday." Naruto started to walk, then stopped, grabbing Sakura's arm. "Um, should we say anything?"

"Are you kidding? This is great!" She chortled. Sakura actually chortled. "Just snag Sasuke for a bit, so he can get the joke."

A few seconds later, and all three genin were enjoying their habitually late sensei's humiliation. Life was definitely most good.

A short distance away, three overgrown teenagers and three regular teens were holding each other up. "No one, and I mean no one, calls our pranks lame." The calm, almost staid Marauder said, as he held open the door to the Quality Quidditch.

Harry snorted, following Remus in. He was just glad that, for once, the joke wasn't on him.

In the reception of Gringott's, a band of goblins grinned evilly at the silver-haired shinobi. "Sir, we require pants to be visible in our establishment. I must say, your boxer shorts are very stylish, but their hardly appropriate attire for banking."

With that said, the Goblin headed back to his station, snickering, as Kakashi put both his hands on his rear.

"What do you mean, visible? I'm wearing pants!" He yelled, only to close his eyes in aggravation as he heard his students laugh. "Alright, one of you tell me what's going on! Sasuke? Naruto? Alright, Sakura, spill it!"

Naruto decided to be brave. "Should we buy you some 'Lil Nin' Manga for your birthday, Sensei?"

Dumbledore waved his wand, and smiled. "It seems that the Marauders have toned it down, this semester." He smiled, as the Jounin's pants reappeared. "Usually, they would have just banished them. I would advise you to never insult their handiwork. It usually leads to trouble."

Kakashi groaned, wishing that magic would make the floor swallow him up. If he ran, then he'd never live it down. If he stayed, well, he'd be the butt of everyone's jokes all day. And yes… the pun was intended!

/snicker, snicker, snicker/

Hey, all! I know that it's short, but there is a GOOD reason for that. The original chapter was deleted and picked apart on purpose. I really wanted to introduce the Marauders this chapter, and have Naru-chan and company go shopping. I did NOT put in what they had bought. It's a given that they bought Naruto's books and wands, and uniforms. He did NOT get a pet - He couldn't find one he liked, and I plan on taking care of his familiar another way. I didn't feel like going through the whole Spiel about his day- it would have been boringly mind numbing and heart renderingly cliche. For those that MUST know what type of wand he has, it will be Ivy, with Dragon heartstring.

Interestingly enough, I took a page out of JKR's book, and assigned it according to his birthday. Now, this is the kicker - "**Ivy: Gort(G) **Moon of Buoyancy and resilience, the Ivy symbolizes healing, protection

cooperation and exorcism. Tree of resurrection."

I thought this was interesting, since the demonologist will, in effect, exorcise Kyuubi… and the magic, will in effect, resurrect Naruto… Ok, that last bit is pushing it, since Naruto wouldn't have actually died… but still…

Also, Naru-chan IS a resilient AND Buoyant personality. He's also very protective of those he loves, and has a habit of healing mental scars (ex. Gaara, and to some extent, the princess of Snow)

'Course.. He's not very cooperative about stuff he doesn't like…

Caliko


	5. Chapter 4

I own nothing but the plot, and any characters that you won't recognize

Challenge - Something I'd like to see used in a fanfic:

**Sirius was miraculously recovered from the veil after the war. Funny thing - he was aware the entire time. Even stranger, after all those years with nothing to do but think about his life and how he wasted it, Sirius had finally matured enough for a girl like Hermione to get interested.**

I just wanted to say, that because of so many people being upset that Kyuubi would be in the Makai, and not with Naru-kun… that I decided to rewrite a rather large part of my fic. In other words, my single OC has now been written out. Oh well, she was too much a Mary-sue anyway. Snapey will just have to go without love… lol Eh.. Just wanted to let y'all know… I very rarely do this… I only listen to other peeps on my plot when their idea really would work out better than mine…

Phoenix Flight - Chapter 4

The Demonologist and the Kitsune Prince

By Caliko

Naruto rolled out of bed nervous about a week after their Diagon Alley trip. At first, he wasn't sure why he was nervous. The sun shone brightly, there was a balmy breeze coming into his window, the grass was thick, green, and healthy. He was just jittery. Then, he remembered. Today was the day that he was to meet the demonologist.

The Headmaster didn't know him personally. He was recommended by one of his former students that had moved back to Japan with his family. The Student, Yamaguchi Benkei kept in touch with Dumbledore, often sending him samples of muggle candy that he could only get in Japan. Along with the candy, Yamaguchi-san often sent him some very potent saki for his birthday every year.

Yamaguchi Kinmori was Benkei's eldest nephew, who had been both born and raised in the Japanese wizarding world. The elder Yamaguchi admitted quite freely that Kinmori was the family genius when it came to exorcising demons. It helped that he had connections that would allow the demonologist to open the gate to the Makai and banish the kitsune home where it belonged… permanently. What those connections were, only Kinmori and his family knew, and then only if they went into the family business.

After being told all of this, it was no surprise that Naruto woke up nervous. If all goes well, this time next week he'd be Kyuubi free. That was something he had never considered, since being told why the entire village hated him. It made him wonder, if it were possible, that his entire life in Konoha would be changed. Would they see him as Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, or would they see it as just another kitsune trick?

Finally, he shook his head, determined not to think about it until he needed to. Right now, he needed a shower and food. After that, a bit of training would keep his mind off of future possibilities.

Naruto grabbed clean clothes, then went into the shower to start his day.

Half-way through breakfast, the blonde found out that what he had planned for the day was busted. Dumbledore had specifically asked that Naruto did not train that day. The Headmaster had explained to Kakashi that he would need all of his energy for the afternoon. Being told this, did nothing but make him nervous all over again. His instincts were screaming that he would be Kyuubi-free much sooner than he had thought.

He was so excited at the prospect, that he began to shake his cereal off of his spoon. That was, when his stomach wasn't so tight that he felt like he was about to puke…

He resolutely pushed his breakfast away from him and got up from the table. Just what he needed for his day. He was now nervous, excited, sick to his stomach, and bored. Great. Just great.

Watching him, Sasuke snorted, while Sakura rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Naruto, let's take a walk. You're only going to make Sasuke hurt you if you sit around here."

"Him? Hurt me? As if." Naruto snorted, his stomach settling for the moment. "Kyuubi would heal me before he got another hit in."

She only rolled her eyes, then grabbed his hand. "Well, then, you better train to avoid hits, now, since the fox won't be able to heal you anymore." She smirked, "yeah, you will actually have to train to fight better. You won't have as much chakra as your used to, so you can't rely on simply outlasting your opponent anymore." She gave an evil laugh, only for Naruto to join in. Strangely, it felt like he was laughing at her.

"Sakura-chan…" He drawled, "The only time I've used the Fuzz ball's chakra was on the bridge against Haku. Every other spar has been me. Just me, and hundreds of shadow clones." As if to mock her more, he positioned his hands into a familiar shape. Thousands of clones stared at her, and Naruto giggled, untouched by using so much life energy. "Not even Kakashi can make so many shadow clones, and they each have as equal of a piece of my chakra as I do."

Sakura gulped. It was true. Not even a smidgen of the malevolent red chakra was present. She had only felt it once before, but it was a presence that you just didn't forget. "Ano, Naruto… Just how much chakra do you have right now?"  
His smile grew wider. "High chunnin level. Unfortunately, my control is still low genin level. Once I can actually train," He paused to dismiss his clones, "I'll work on that some more."

"So, the more clones you make, the less chakra each of you has?" Sakura was getting an idea that might help him.

"Yeah." He could almost see the cogs of her mind working.

"So, what if you made enough for you to have low genin levels, sent some to work on control, and others to learn other things. Then, when you master that level of chakra, you rest, then make less clones the next time. Each time you make less clones, raising your chakra levels, master it, then do it over again."

"I could do it at my own pace that way, even fine-tune my control." He smiled, "I think it may work."

The pink haired kunoichi had been watching his face as he thought about her idea. It surprised her that he actually understood. When they were trying team exercises, he would usually mess something up. Their missions to find that blasted cat usually ended up in a free for all. The only other time he worked well with them was against Zabuza, and he was the one to make that plan.

Wait a minute… Her eyes narrowed. That combo against Zabuza was well thought out, and well played. It was also on a level that only Shikamaru could have done at their age. Even Sasuke couldn't have planned that out. "You're not stupid, are you?" Sakura confronted her teammate head on.

Naruto froze, then looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Shrugging, he relented. "I've never been stupid, Sakura. If the civilians knew what I was capable of, there would have been more assassination attempts. The council would have succeeded in having me killed or outcast. The civilians would have been terrified, and the atmosphere in the village would have been impossible. I've had enough dirty looks from people for things that I couldn't control. I didn't want more."

"So, you decided to fake it? How did you even think up that plan?" She was shaking her head, unable to comprehend this new persona that she was seeing.

"I didn't. The Old man thought it up, and talked to me about it. It was about a month before I went into the academy. He already knew what I was capable of. He'd been teaching me for a while, himself, knowing that there were teachers at school who would ignore me. When he realized that I was a near genius, he told me to tone it down in public. He wouldn't tell me why, but he said that there were people that didn't like me, and that they would try to hurt me if I grew too powerful, too soon. I didn't understand till I found out about Kyuubi."

Sakura had stopped under a tree, caught up in something he said. "Near genius?" She blinked, staring.

He just laughed. "Near genius. No where near Shikamaru's level, but a bit higher than yours. I'd say equal to Sasuke's ability."

"And you let us think… you never once said… I have to sit down." She did, right there in the middle of the lawn. Naruto giggled, and sat down next to her. Neither one saw the shadow that had hung back until it joined them on the lawn.

"Dobe." Sasuke grunted. "You broke her."

The blond just shrugged. "It's not my fault she was too caught up in you to see anything else around her. I mean, you realized months ago that I wasn't as stupid as I pretended to be."  
"Hmmm… even I didn't realize just how smart you were. I was thinking, average at most." Sasuke thought for a moment, "How much of that act bled into your skills?"

At this, Naruto smirk grew wide. "You'll just have to wait until we spar again. Of course, then I'll have to confess to Kakashi that I'm more like Dad then he thought…" He sprang up, then pointed to the side of the manor, where a man-made lake lay. "Enough of this seriousness! Let's have some fun!" He shouted, his demeanor doing a complete 180.

Sakura came back to herself, reassured that not everything changes. "You're still obnoxiously loud, then?" She drawled, before dashing towards the lake.

He laughed, before overtaking her. "Last one in has to teach the other two a jutsu!"

At that, the second jutsu-addict on the team dashed ahead of both Naruto and Sakura. The two smirked, shaking their heads. The Avenger was not above cheating to get what he wanted.

The three kids swam in the lake the rest of the morning, only stopping when an elf came to tell them that it was lunch time. By then, Naruto was calm enough to eat without being sick.

It was towards the end of the meal when the headmaster flooed in with Yamaguchi-san. He was an odd man, dressed in vibrant blue silk robes. Two paintbrushes lay tucked into the side of his belt, one thin, and one thick. Hanging from a loop directly under them, there was a silver tube that had no out-ward use. Naruto assumed that it was ink. His hair lay short, cropped so closely to his head that one could almost see his scalp, and he wore old fashioned wooden sandles.

Dumbledore stood next to Kakashi, and introduced his guest. "Hatake-san, Children, this is Yamaguchi Kinmori. He was very interested in your case. It seems that the Kyuubi no Yoko is an extremely famous demon, very important in the politics of the Makai."

"Nice to meet you, Yamaguchi-san." Kakashi motioned Naruto over, "This is Naruto. He's the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

The man said nothing as he moved closer to Naruto. He stared, unblinking, at his face as his fingers trailed the whisker marks that lay on his cheeks. The blond pulled back a bit, but Yamaguchi ignored his discomfort. Persistently, he raised his upper lip, nodding as he saw the sharp, foxlike fangs that stood for his canine teeth. Then, to be even more rude, the demonologist lifted his shirt, nonchalantly tracing the spiral on his stomach.

"Oi! What are you doing?" Naruto yelled, fed up. "You could have asked!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, kid. I just wanted to make sure it really was a Kyuubi Kitsune. I mean, it would be worthless if I used a ritual for a kitsune and it was actually a dog." He hummed, setting his bag on the table. "Do you think you can get him to tell you which Kyuubi Kitsune he is? It would make it a lot easier if I had a name."

Naruto's forehead throbbed. His eye ticked. His fist clenched. He really didn't think this guy was going to be able to do shit. "OI! What the hell do you mean, 'which one'? There is ONLY ONE nine tailed fox demon, you dumb ass!"

Kinmori snickered. "You really think that? Yeesh! What do you ninja's know?" He shook his head. "The title 'Kyuubi' refers to the type of demon. The number of tails they have refers to their clan! THE Kyuubi no Yoko is the head of the nine tailed clan of fox demons, and he rules a very large portion of the Makai. Now, as he is very much still in the Makai at the moment, I seriously doubt that that" He pointed to Naruto's stomach, "is him. However, his son, the Prince, is not only missing, but has been missing for eleven years."

The four shinobi present blinked. This was certainly news to them. Sasuke broke the silence. "So the Dobe isn't the jailer for the father, he's the jailer for the son?"

Kinmori shrugged. "Not necessarily. The kitsune clans are notoriously independent. They can go for centuries without checking in with each other. The royals, however, are required to stay close to their home territory. Eleven years ago, according to a friend of mine who belongs to the one tailed clan, the Prince was on a vacation. He wasn't supposed to be on said vacation, but had sneaked out of the Makai to get away from his fan girls. No one has heard of him since. Now, I think it's probable that Naruto holds the Prince. However, it's possible that it's just some idiot in the lower ranks, as well."

At this, Naruto started to snicker. The great and terrible Kyuubi no Kitsune, the terror of Konoha, the destruction of all things pink and fluffy, lied about who he was. Sure, he might be the prince, but he claimed to be the king! Smirking, he asked, "How do I find out who he is?"

"Oh, that's easy." Without warning, Kinmori touched the seal with his hand glowing with magic. He caught the boy seconds after he passed out.

Naruto woke up standing in front of the cage. He had been here once before, when he was five years old, and delirious from poison. Until the day he graduated, he had always assumed that it was a strange dream. What else was he to think, after all? He had just learned how to play poker from a giant fox, and that didn't happen in the real world.

Now, however, he knew very well that he really did win several million yen worth of rare jewels from the fuzz ball. He was still trying to figure out how he would collect once the fox returned to the Makai.

"Oi! Fuzzy, you here?" He called out, smirking. He knew that it would piss the Kyuubi off. Where else would he be, after all?

"Shut it, brat!" The Kitsune growled. "Where else would I be?" He came closer to the bars of his cage, yawning. Considering the extreme bed head he had, it was obvious that the fox had just woken up from his nap.

"True. Look, your getting out." Naruto smirked, seeing the evil red eyes light up.

"Huh? You're shitting me, right?" Kyuu blinked, refusing to believe the brat.

Naruto just smiled, at ease with what must be done. If he asked the fox outright who he was, he would have been ignored. So, he had to act like the ninja he was, and let the fox confirm information he was pretending to have.

"Nope. Your getting out, and sent back to the Makai. Just think, you'll be having the time of your life back with your own kind. I bet your even going to be happy to see your fan girls again!"

Kyuu shuddered, then blinked, realizing what Naruto just said. "Who have you been talking to?"

"What?" If innocence had a face, it would be the boys. Not. He snickered, relaxed now that he knew Kinmori was right in which Kitsune it was. "Yamaguchi Kinmori. Mentioned that you snuck out of your clans territory for an unauthorized vacation in the human realm, and all that to get away from your fan girls. You will be glad to know, that no one knows you were sealed into a human. It's a complete mystery to them. But…" Naruto grinned evilly, "I'm sure your father will understand."

"I'm not going back." Kyuubi closed his eyes, then opened them. Determination shone in their depths. "You can let me out, but I'm not going back to the Makai. I'll just stay in my human form, and no one has to know anything."

Naruto shrugged. Really, once he was out of the seal, it would be up to Kinmori-san to force the fox back into it's own world.

"If you can talk Yamaguchi-san into letting you stay in the human realm, your welcome to stay at my place. But, it's between the two of you - leave me out of it."

"Alright, brat. Now, go! The sooner your awake, the sooner I get out." Kyuubi flexed his metaphysical muscles, and Naruto was flung back into consciousness.

He shook his head, dizzy, then blinked. "It's the prince, Yamaguchi-san. How soon till we get him out?"

Kinmori nodded, "Tonight. For now, take this, and go to bed. I need you fully awake, and at full strength for the rituals. I will send your godfather to get you when we're ready."

Without another word, the demonologist turned back to the fireplace. Another moment passes, and he's gone.

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I really like that boy." He chuckles. "He's so much like his uncle."  
And then the shinobi were alone once more.


	6. Chapter 5

I don't own Harry Potter, or Naruto. Heck, I'm not even using their plotlines, except for a roundabout skeleton to gauge time. Anyway, since I don't own either, I do not believe I'm making money off of this little romp… and If I am, where is it?

Oh, and I'm borrowing Kurama from YYH. Doubt he'll show up again, but hey. You never know.

Phoenix Flight - Chapter 5

By Caliko

Naruto woke up from his nap, and stretched . Whatever was in that potion did it's job, as he slept soundly. More than that, he was much calmer than he was that morning. Shrugging, he hopped out of bed and threw his clothes on, before following his nose to the dining room to eat.

"Naruto-kun!" Kinmori called, gesturing for the blond to sit next to him. "You look well rested. That's good. I have heard from Hatake-san that you have high endurance levels, but you will still use most of that during the ritual."

The boy nodded, then silently gestured to the platter of veal.

Kinmori passed it over to him, continuing, "Most of the energy you will use will take the form of willpower. Leave the control to me, but you will have to want to live through this. I will, in essence, remove yours and the Prince's souls from your body, and separating them. Your soul will be anchored to your body, and your willpower will feed the anchor. Once you and the kitsune are separated, I will release your soul, which will snap back into your body. An associate of mine, who is, by the way, a kitsune demon, will open a rift into the Makai. The Prince will be sent through the rift, which will then close, and it will be over. Your fox traits will fade, and you will be alive and completely free of the kitsune."

Naruto snickered in his head. He knew damn well that it wasn't going to be that easy. Knowing the Prince, and his aversion to fan girls, he had every faith that nothing was going to go as smoothly as Kinmori claimed. Still, he wasn't going to mention that out loud. As he told the Fuzzball, that was between the demonologist and the fox!

The boy nodded, snickering in his head. After a few moments, he asked, "How long will it last?"

"Not long, Naruto-kun. Maybe 20 minutes or so." He smiled, "It will last just long enough for you to be wishing to go back to bed. Now, if your done eating, Dumbledore-san is waiting."

With that, Kinmori stood, and headed outside. Naruto followed, wondering where the ritual would take place.

He didn't wait for long. The demonologist led him out back, and into the woods. After a few moments, they entered a clearing.

There were two people waiting in the clearing. One, dressed in electric blue robes with running cats and rolling yarn balls, was obviously Headmaster Dumbledore. The other was a boy that looked to be about eighteen years old. He was dressed in slacks and a white shirt, and had shoulder length red hair. Brilliant green eyes peeped out of wispy bangs, and his expression was mostly solemn. Mostly, because ever few minutes, he gained a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his lips would twitch.

Naruto figured that he was the kitsune that was helping them, and that he was probably laughing at the Prince for getting sealed. His blue eyes sparkled as they met equally amused green. "The furrball is never gonna live this down, will he?"

"Nope." The other boy held his hand out, "Yoko Kurama." He introduced himself.

"Namikaze Naruto." They shook hands, and then Naruto glanced around the clearing.

It was bare, except for the intricate lines that were painted onto the dirt in white paint. One large circle sat in the middle, with two slightly smaller circles on either side. Strange, stylized symbols surrounded the three rings, joined by a thin, unbroken line. At the front of the clearing, a thick, white line was plugged into the larger seal. That was it. No magic herbs or plants, no strange noxious potions. Not even a damn wand was in sight.

"This all seems too easy…" He hadn't realized that he spoke aloud until Kurama snorted. "Magic and chakra usage is usually made harder to use than it really is. The Asian wizards know this; the youkai know this. Hell, even the Americans and the Australians have adapted the native magics to their own abilities. It is only the Europeans that don't get it."

"So, this is an Asian ritual?" Naruto asked, actually interested.

"Hmnm… a mix between a Chinese practice to anchor the soul in mortally wounded patients, and a Japanese exorcism. The line at the top just marks the size and placement of the rift. It would continue to open until it was too large to be controlled if we didn't limit the size first."

"Alright, then… Kinmori-san, let's do this before I change my mind!" the blond said, forced cheerfulness in his voice. He was getting nervous again, despite the potion from before.

"Then lay down in the center circle, Naruto." Dumbledore told him, coming over. "I will be speaking to you, slowly taking you through a relaxation technique. You are to concentrate on doing what I tell you, and to stay as relaxed as you can. Kinmori-san and Kurama-san will handle everything else. Your main task is to stay relaxed, and to enforce the anchor with your will."

The young shinobi did as he was asked, fidgeting slightly. After a few minutes of failing to get comfortable, he unzipped his jacket and threw it to the side, away from the seals. Then, laying down again, he closed his eyes and let himself hear Headmaster Dumbledore.

His voice was tired, aged, and wise. He found himself drifting along a blue current of energy, feeling, hearing nothing but what his guardian spoke. Anger, frustration, sadness - nothing negative existed in this stream of energy.

Drifting farther, he approached a soft, white stream of light, then stopped. He could not move, but then again, he didn't want to. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt grounded. He had arrived at the anchor.

He must have said that out loud, for the next moment, Dumbledore spoke again. Listening to the wise voice, he lifted his hands and plunged them directly into the stream of light.

What happened wasn't painful, but it changed him so quickly that he wouldn't have felt it if it was. He was thinking clearer than ever, his will enveloped him in a sheaf of determination, literally holding his consciousness up. Tendrils of memory seemed to braid itself around the sheaf, holding his arms and legs still, before cradling around his head in a strange, protective caress.

Naruto found that he could remember every moment of his life. He remembered the strange pressure in the darkness as he was being born; the bright light that startled him moments later. He remembered his mothers smile, her fiery red hair hanging in lank tendrils of sweat as she looked upon him with love. He remembered the strong surety of his father's hands as he held him that first time; the fierce protectiveness that never failed, not even upon Gamabunta's back on his first wild toad ride. He remembered his father's tears, as he cried about what he was about to do.

Everything that made him Naruto was reintroduced to his mind, as fresh as it was the moment that it happed. He could see the thread of fate, leading from one moment to the next, bypassing possible histories that would never have worked. He knew, without being told, that he was gazing at the tapestry of fate, and it was not just a dream. Every good thing, every bad thing that had happened to him, had a reason. They were a test, or a lesson, measuring how far he had come. Every action affected everyone around him, even as far as on the other side of the elemental continent as word of a Jinchuuriki had gotten out.

This would have scared most people, but it was welcome to Naruto. It meant that he had a reason, a purpose, and that he was not just a worthless demon that should have died as a babe. Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto was as important as the Uchiha, or as Kakashi. He was as important as the Hokage, or Dumbledore, because he had a reason, now, to be alive. This reason, this purpose, flared, feeding into the anchor. It became as steel, stronger than before, and tempered in the fire of fate.

Seconds later, there was a wrench, as another entity left his mind. Naruto had been so intent on his purpose, that he failed to sense the Kitsune that shared his body. Now, he felt the jerk that dragged him outside of his body as well. The tendril of fate attached the Prince to the Shinobi, and bound the two tighter than anyone could have thought.

Naruto could tell that only the fox and himself could see that thread. Others simply saw how their souls were wrapped around each other, entwined so tightly that they could not be separated by anything other than magic. The two looked to each other, ignoring the faces of the other three as they concentrated their powers into the seal. That red strand of fate told them both that they still had many, many years of dealing with each other, separated or not.

Kurama left the circles, and walked towards where the rift would be. Holding his hand out, he threw earth magic into the air, watching as it settled into the seal.

Naruto saw the Kyuubi gathering his energy as their souls were finally separate. Than, faster than any of the others thought, he formed his body, laughing at the shocked gaze of Kurama and Kinmori. Dumbledore, however, looked amused if anything. As the Prince settled into a human form, Naruto was flung back into his body, regaining consciousness moments later. For some reason, he had thought that that may have happened much quicker than was intended. Almost as if the Demonologist lost control of his ritual?

'Whatever.' He smirked, sitting up to watch the show. 'I'm alive, and I'm about to be amused.'

The fox was laughing, hopping from one tree to another, only seconds in front of Kurama. Kinmori just shook his head, knowing that he hadn't a chance. The one-tailed kitsune was cursing a storm, yelling that he had to go back to the Makai, while the Prince told him 'no' flat out. The choice was out of their hands when the rift closed with a snap.

Seeing this, the nine-tail stopped, waiting for Kurama to pounce. When it happened, the younger Kitsune blushed, as the Prince groped him. Yes, groped him openly, and definitely on purpose, smirking at the younger red head.

"Hmmm… A nice welcome back to the living. A little chase, a little grope. Want to take this back to the house?" He wiggled his eyebrows, not really caring that he didn't even know Kurama.

"PERVERT!" /Smack/. The younger's hand came up, leaving a red, fox pawed shape directly on the prince's pale white cheek. "I don't swing that way!" He shouted, stalking off.

"Are you sure?" The prince called out, smirking. "Because, if your not sure, I volunteer to help you figure that out!"  
There was no answer, but then again, he didn't expect one. Still smirking, he turned to Kinmori, "Boy, you have grown!" He snorted. "The last time we saw each other, you were in diapers in your father's arms."

Kinmori bowed, "Kage-sama, I am honored that you remember me."

"Yeah, yeah. Drop the 'sama', we're not in the Makai, and I have no intention of going back anytime soon."

The demonologist's eyes bulged, "But.. But.. Your father.. The Kyuubi…"

"Eh.. He'll get over it. Now, it's been awhile since I last ate, and I'm hungry." He glanced over to Naruto, "What do you have to eat, brat?"

Naruto got up, his smirk matching the Prince's. "Your name is Kage? Like, a shadow? You know, people call their dogs shadow, not their kids."

The boy didn't duck quick enough, and was quickly cuffed in the back of the head. "Don't be a smart ass. Now, feed me."

They walked off, ignoring the two still in the clearing. Kinmori looked over to Dumbledore, sighing. "At least they are separated." He said.

"Don't worry, Kinmori, my boy. Something tells me that this is all part of a bigger plan." The headmaster replied, striding to catch up to the shinobi and the fox.

"Oi! You don't under - aww, what the hell. I did my job. It was Kurama's job to get the bugger back home."

He turned in place, and disappeared into the void. When the Kyuubi found out that his son refused to come home, he would send an ambassador. Kinmori really didn't want to be there when they showed up.

A/N Yes, it was a bit short. No, it was not easy to write. Yes, I procrastinated like you wouldn't believe. More to the point, I really, really, had no idea how I was going to write the extraction before this morning. Once I finally got that written, I figured that y'all would rather have this lil niblet now than wait for a another two weeks when I'll have the next part figured out. Forgive me? Caliko


	7. Chapter 6

I don't own HP or Naruto. I'm just borrowing characters and scenes for my own amusement.

Oh! I keep forgetting to ask… but I have a few small polls in my forum that I NEED to be taken… I can't write the second part of this story without it. I don't usually ask for advise, but in this case, the story line can go either way, and I really like both directions equally.

Caliko

Phoenix Flight - Chapter 6

By Caliko

Dumbledore walked into the manor and smiled. How could he not? The three shinobi that were not included on tonight's outing were glued to their chairs, eyes wide and nervous. Naruto was giggling, and Kyuubi… well, he was being a kitsune.

The demon was staring at Kakashi, hearts in his eyes, and drool flowing out of his mouth. He didn't bother looking at the two preteens that were next to him. No. He was perfectly content to blatantly stare at the copy-nin.

"Oi, Kage… is that all you think about?" Naruto drawled, flopping down into the nearest couch. "Tatty!"

The house elf popped in, carrying a selection of cakes and a plate of rare roast beef. In his other hand were a six-pack of butterbeer. "Master's guest is hungry?" He asked, placing both onto the coffee table.

Kage's nose twitched, and his gaze centered on the platter of beef. Then, looking at the butterbeers, he asked, "Anything stronger?"

Tatty growled, then wagged his finger. "Bad fox! Kitsune's no hold liquor! Tatty's papa told Tatty, 'Don't feed foxes fire whiskey! Theyz lose control of fire!' Youz have butterbeer or water in Masters home!"

The Prince narrowed his eyes, then moved as if to pounce. Immediately, Tatty smirked, snapped his fingers, and Kage was dressed in a collar and leash. "Youz never try to hurt elf in elf's house!"

The leash pulled taut, and Naruto grinned as the Fox landed on his back on the floor. "Stupid fox! Elf's just as magical as foxes! Elf's protect elf's Master and the' self's!"

Dumbledore hid his ever growing grin, then said, "Naruto, my child. If Tatty has everything in control, I will be leaving. Remember - the Hogwarts Express leaves London on Monday. I will have someone come by to bring you and Kakashi-san to the station Monday morning. Oh, and Kage-sama. Naruto never found his familiar in Diagon Alley. If you are capable of becoming a small fox, I'm sure that none of the humans will guess that you are actually a demon."

Kage hummed, then smirked. "Kakashi will be coming, you say?"

"Yes. Of course, my good friend, Sirius Black will be there, as well. Very handsome man, if you like the dark playboy type."

"You may expect me, Dumbledore-san." Kage grinned lecherously. "I'll even behave in front of the children."

"Professor Black likes pranks, Fox." Naruto smirked. He was beginning to get a very twisted idea for ninja payback. If, that is, Kakashi-sensei allowed them to do it.

"Then, definitely a man after my own heart." His smirk grew wider, before he glanced at the copy-nin. "Until then, Kakashi-kun… would you like to play a little with me? I promise I won't get too rough."  
The silver-haired jounin blushed, then hustled out of the room. He wasn't used to being the prey when Anko wasn't around.

The next morning, Naruto woke up feeling strange. He wasn't hurting, or anything like that - he just felt weird. For one thing, he felt calm. The usual antsy-ness that came from constantly feeling Kage's chakra under his skin was missing. He also felt very vulnerable. The young nin could only guess that it was the after effects of the exorcism.

"I just have to get used to it, I guess." He muttered aloud, walking to his bathroom.

Unfortunately, while he was feeling so strange, and worried about being weak, there were a few things that he hadn't noticed. For one, Naruto was a good six inches taller than he was when he fell asleep. The other things were impossible to notice unless he looked in a mirror, and that wouldn't happen until his eyes were clear of the sleep grit that glued them together.

Ten minutes later, a more awake shinobi screamed, and pulled his soaked head out from under the water. Blankly, he stared at the long, silvery-blond hair that lay entwined in his soapy fingers. "What the fuck?"

There really was no logical thing to say at that point. He had gone to bed with sunny blond, short spiky hair, and woke up with silver-blond hair that reached his thighs. Even with his knowledge that magic existed, he didn't see that happening every day.

Hurriedly, Naruto rinsed off the suds, cursing as his fingers tangled deeper in his new mop, moaning with pain as they wouldn't come loose from the squeaky clean strands. "This is getting old, fast."

Then, once sure that the majority of the shampoo was gone, he turned the taps off and climbed out of the shower. Going to the mirror, he ignored the cheeky grin of his magical reflection, and shrieked once more.

Downstairs, a house-elf rolled his eyes, then glanced at the portrait of the late mistress. "Master's inh'tance." He explained, smirking with the old broad, without mentioning why he would know what was going on at that moment.

"Dumbledore hadn't warned him?" Her painted eyes twinkled much like her godfather's. "Granted, there was a chance that it would pass over him, as it did to me, but there have been more veela in the clan than not. He should have said something."

"No fun, warning, Mistress." He bowed, then popped into the kitchen to begin breakfast.

Upstairs, three ninja's and a fox demon burst into Naruto's room, and headed straight to the open bathroom door.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called, stopping short when he saw his transformed student.

It was still obviously Naruto, even with the changes. For one, Kakashi remembered well what his Sensei looked like, and now the boy was even more of a clone than he had been before. Granted, his hair was a completely different shade of blond, and his eyes had some strange, silvery wisps floating around the blue, but build and bone structure and facial features were Minato all over again.

"What happened to me?" Naruto gasped, his hands gingerly touching his cheeks. "I expected the whiskers to be gone - Kage warned me about that. But… That was the ONLY change I thought would happen!"

All three of his team mates couldn't seem to take their eyes off of him, while the fox just fell to the floor. "Vee.. Vee… Oh, Inari, this is good! He's Veela!" Kage snorted, his chuckles quickly growing into full out howls. "Kakashi, you're going to have to keep an eye on his virtue!"

Everyone just gave the fox a look of 'huh?' Shaking it off, Kakashi shooed everyone out of the room. "Naruto, I'll grab something for you to wear. I just don't think your jumpsuits will fit. Damn, we're going to have to go back to the alley, now." Kakashi really didn't want to remember his impromptu streaking, and going back to the scene of the crime would make him relive it.

"Than.. Thanks, sensei." The boy stuttered, realizing that he was naked. His skin immediately began to turn a dark red, more so when he noticed that Sakura and Sasuke were avidly staring at him. Naruto shuddered a bit when drool slipped out of Sakura's mouth. "EEEP!" Hurriedly, he wrapped himself in the first thing he could find, thankful that the shower curtain covered everything.

Kakashi glanced backwards, and growled, before knocking their heads together. "What, exactly, is a veela, Kage?" He asked, shooing everyone out of the bathroom.

Kage followed, and sat on Naruto's bed. "Wait for Naru-chan to come out." He said, suddenly serious. Yeah, he liked sexy people, even more so when they played with him. But even the Kitsune knew what type of trouble this could cause the boy. He didn't even want to think about what would happen when they went back to Konoha.

Kakashi nodded, then left, coming back a few minutes later with a pair of pants and a shirt. "He's going to need new shoes, as well, I think."

"A whole new wardrobe."Sakura agreed, sitting down in the chair next to the fireplace. "Do you think we should floo the Headmaster?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I have to Konoha today to drop off my report on your progress. Since Fawkes is my only way there and back, I'll talk to him once I get to Hogwarts." He knocked on the door, then gave the clothes to the pale hand that reached out.

A few minutes later, Naruto came out of the bathroom, barefoot with his hairbrush literally stuck in his hair. Sakura sighed, then pointed to the ottoman in front of her. She regretted it almost right away, as it looked as if the brush would have to be cut from his hair.

Kage growled when she mentioned it, then snapped his fingers. Instantly, Naruto's hair was dry, brushed, and braided down his back. "You don't cut a Veela's hair." He muttered, angrily. "Much of their power is stored in their hair, much like a kitsune's magic is in their tails. Don't even think of taking scissors to his head."

Kakashi stored that information for later, then asked, "Now that he's here, what is a veela?"

The fox thought for a moment, then settled on his wording. "You know how a Kitsune is a fire spirit? And the house-elf's are basically the spirits of home and hearth? Veela are.. Um.."

The shinobi pointedly gazed at him, silently telling the prince to spit it out.

"Alright! Damn.. They are the embodiment of sexual desire. They are not dark, that's an incubus. They don't physically harm anyone unless severely angered, usually by attacking their mates or children. At that point, the females turn into a really ugly bird, and Inari help the people they are mad at." Kage shuddered. "It's not a pretty site. Anyway, Veela have a tendency to sexually excite anyone that is close to them and not related by blood. They can enthrall an entire room of people into doing what they want, with just a simple smile, or encouraging nod. The less experienced can't turn it on or off - it just manifests randomly. Thankfully, they boy is young, and hasn't really hit puberty yet. It's close, but not quite there. He shouldn't inspire anyone to rape him for a good year or so yet."  
"Rape?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me that he'll be in danger of being raped whenever he leaves the house?"

Sakura looked just as pissed as Sasuke, and Kakashi looked as if he would cheerfully murder anyone that tried.

"Yes," Kage said, "If we don't take precautions, he'll be a danger to himself. Thankfully, I believe my father has something in his possession that should help. If Naruto could call Tatty, I can send him to my father with a message to request his help. Although…" He glanced at the blond, "Naru-chan should be prepared to pay for the help."

"In what way?" Kakashi asked, unwilling to even try if it might hurt the boy.

"Nothing dangerous or damaging. Dad might ask for returned favor, or he might request a betrothal with one of my younger sisters. However, he will not ask anything that will be a hardship to pay. The old man doesn't like creating enemies that might make good allies later."

"Alright, then. I agree. Go ahead and write your letter, Kage, and I'll have Tatty take it to your Tousan."

His Godfather looked as if he were going to argue, then realized that the price had to be better than the alternative. Nodding, the four left to get dressed themselves.

After breakfast, Kakashi flooed to the Headmaster's office, and Tatty left to bring Kage's letter to the king. The three kids settled into their routines, and another day slowly passed.

It was in the middle of dinner, that Fawkes flamed Kakashi directly into the dining room. The Jounin was pale, and his hands were shaking. Slowly, he took a seat, breathing out noisily in a choked, almost sob-like sound.

"Sensei? What's wrong?" Sakura asked, as team seven got up to surround their teacher. In the background, the phoenix began to warble soothingly.

"Konoha was invaded." He replied. "The Children of the Kazekage killed, the Suna-nin's imprisoned, and the Hokage is dead." Kakashi was in no fit state of mind to watch his wording. "The Oto-nin's where in an alliance with Suna to destroy Konoha. Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin, is the Otokage. He escaped. The Council has learned that he was after Sasuke, and has ordered me to keep the three of you here until further notice. We won't be going back next summer unless we are summoned."

Without a further word, he left the room, leaving the rest of team seven in confused silence.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer - I don't claim ownership of Naruto or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in an alternate universe, typing when my lazy muse starts to gnaw on my brain…

Forgive me the shortness… I'm still gathering my players. On the bright side, I have FINALLY decided where I'm going with this. I only posted this because I was feeling guilty for holding back so long. Look for some actual plot shortly! Caliko

Phoenix Flight - Chapter 7

By Caliko

Naruto lay in his bed that night, numb. Hokage-jiji, his adopted grandfather was dead. He wouldn't even get to say his farewells, since Team 7 was not allowed to go back to the elemental countries until they were recalled.

Who the hell was Orochimaru, anyway? Kakashi had called him the Snake Sannin. Somehow, that seemed familiar. Unfortunately, he spent his academy career practicing his stealth techniques. Still, if the title was familiar to him, than Sakura would definitely know who he was.

The real question was why the bastard was after Sasuke. Did the Uchiha clan do something to the man? Or was he one of those bloodthirsty monsters that caused chaos just because he could?

He groaned, sitting up. Naruto suddenly didn't think that he would be getting much sleep tonight. "Tatty!" He called, standing up.

"Master needs Tatty?" The little elf popped in, glancing pointedly at the bedside clock.

The blond smirked slightly. For a race that considered themselves servants, there was no doubt about who actually ruled the manor. "Just some warm milk, please. And maybe some of those sugar cookies you made for dessert?" He blinked at the elf, using puppy-dog no jutsu.

Tatty rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers. "Master eat, then sleep! You going to Alley tomorrow for new clothes!"

"Thanks, lil guy!" The blond sat in the chair, balancing the cookies and milk. "Hey, Tatty?" He asked, just before the elf left. "Is there a book in the manor on veela? I um… think I need to know what I am, exactly, right?"  
With another snap of his fingers, a pile of books landed on the bed. "Your Great-grandmother's diary is on top!" Then, the little elf popped out.

"Great-grandmother?" Naruto mumbled, "Is that were I get this from?" He placed his milk on the end table, and reached over to grab the red leather bound book. "One way to find out…"

A few pages into the book, the blonde's face began to heat up. "I didn't even know that was possible…" It was embarrassing to read, yet he couldn't put it down. "I think this makes Kakashi's porn look tame… wow…" Naruto suddenly pinched his nose shut, throwing the book to the opposite side of the room. "I need a shower…" He mumbled, "An icy one…"

The next morning, he woke up with the sun in his eyes. His Sensei stood over by the window, his normal eye glued to diary. The usual porn-induced giggles bounced off of his ears, making the young wizard groan and bury his head under his pillow.

"Do you MIND, Kakashi? That's my Great-grandmothers DIARY! Have some respect!"

"Oh, trust me, Naruto-kun… I have a lot of respect for anyone who can do that!"

"PERVERT! Put that down!" Naruto jumped out of bed, aiming to grab the book. Unfortunately, Kakashi easily evaded the boy with a kawimari.

"Nuh huh, Naruto. You are obviously too young to read this, and I need to know what I'll be dealing with in a few years." Turning the page, his eyes never leaving the paper, he added, "Go get dressed. We leave in an hour." With that, he shunshined out of the room, his giggles following him throughout the manor.

In an undisclosed location, somewhere in the elemental countries, a group of nine S-ranked criminals gathered in a very dark, very large cave.

"Itachi, you have a report?" The man known only as Leader asked.

Uchiha Itachi, Ex-leaf nin stood up, his face blank. "The Kyuubi vessel is missing, as well as his entire team. My younger brother is part of his team, and spoiled by the council, yet there are no orders to search. My sources tell me that they disappeared before the second part of the Chunnin exam, long enough for a retrieval team to be sent out. Therefore, the council must know where they are."

"Are you sure that they live?" Leader-sama asked.

"The village would have been in mourning if the 'last loyal Uchiha' was dead." He smirked at the title. "It has also been released by the council that the Kyuubi brat is the only son and heir to the Yondaime Hokage. One of my spies in the tower itself wonders if the two are undergoing specialized training."

Leader nodded, adding his own thoughts. "After the invasion of Sound, the news that two of Konoha's legacies training to take their father's places would encourage the villages morale. Itachi, Kisame, I wish you to keep close to Konoha. Let me know if any of team 7 are spotted in the village. As for the rest of you, you all have your assignments."

"Hai, Leader-sama!" The members of Akatsuki answered, disappearing as one.

In the land once known as Whirlpool, a buxom blonde walked down the derelict streets, looking for a specific house number. A more modest looking brunette followed the woman, carrying a small pet pig. Both looked tired and bedraggled, drenched by the light rain that had fallen for the better part of the past hour.

"Tsunade-sama, why are we here?" The brunette asked, trudging through the muddy street.

"We are here to lay low for awhile. Uzumaki Kushina came from this village. A long time ago, when I first began to travel away from Konoha, she gave me a key to her clan compound. She said, 'at least I will know that you have a roof over your head when you are far from home.' Kushina was a nice girl. She understood why I had to leave."

"She trusted you with the keys to her compound?" Mentally, Shizune began to wonder how her teacher managed to steal them.

"The compound is empty. Kushina sealed everything important, and brought it with her to Konoha. All of her clan's records have been added to the Namikaze records. The compound is now just an out of the way place to lay low, and get out of the rain." She paused at the corner of the road, then walked to a gate about halfway down the street. "Alright, now I just have to remember the jutsu…"

Shizune caught up in time to hear her. "Jutsu? I thought you have a key."

"Hmmm… The key is only half the solution to get inside. There is a special jutsu that will unlock all of the traps.. Alright, I remember now." She placed the key in the door, then turned it. A moment later, her nimble fingers danced as she went through seals. Then, finally, she lay her chakra saturated hand on the uzumaki seal. "Release!" She said, then cursed as something happened that shouldn't have. "Uh oh…"

Shizune backed up, looking at the ground. "Tsunade-sama!" A pitch black vortex formed at their feet. "What is happening!"

"I think, that I triggered something else… I knew it was the other jutsu!"

"What!" They didn't have the time to say anything else. A moment later, they fell through the ground, tumbling through darkness. It seemed like hours later, that they hit the ground hard.

Looking up, Tsunade blinked. "Olivander's wands? Where the hell are we?"

TBC


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer - I don't claim ownership of Naruto or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in an alternate universe, typing when my lazy muse starts to gnaw on my brain…

Also.. and this is important. I'm currently suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. It's bad, to the point that i'm nearly crippled when i try to type. i'm single fingering this right now, for instance. I've sought medical help, and i'm being treated. While it's gotten a bit better, i'm still unable to type.

If you are willing to take over this story, contact me. there is no major plot, so whoever takes it over will have free reign.

Here's what I have managed to type.

Phoenix Flight - Chapter 8

By Caliko

Naruto grumbled as he stepped out of the fireplace and into the Leaky Cauldron. Thankfully, it was only Kakashi and himself, as the rest of the inmates had decided to stay in their cells. He didn't want to think of Sakura bashing Hatake over the head for his obscene giggling, especially when he would have to acknowledge that the man's new porn was actually his grandmother's diary. Of course, there was also the new protective instincts that Sasuke seemed to have developed. Kage had to literally sit on him so that they could floo out.

His sensei wandered towards the back door, his eyes never leaving the page. A few old men, who definitely looked like those type of old men, smiled indulgently when that evil, perverse snicker left the mans mouth. Naruto rolled his eyes, and followed, trying to look like he wasn't with Kakashi. The last thing he needed was his classmates thinking he was the physical fitness professor's boy toy. He could only hope that he finished the diary before he left for school.

He tapped the bricks with his wand and the two wandered down the alley towards Madam Malkins. He cringed, wondering what she would say. Even in the magical world, he doubted that boys changed as much as he did in a matter of days. Maybe he would get lucky, and the woman wouldn't recognize him.

Madam Malkin's angry glare at the walking hormone killed that hope, of course. She took one look at him, and simply nodded. "Veela inheritance?"

"Er, yeah." Naruto blushed. The woman's granddaughter wouldn't stop staring at him.

"Alright, then. Hop up, and we'll get you fixed up in a jiffy."

All in all, it wasn't so bad, if you didn't count the times she stuck him with a pin every time Kakashi giggled. His sensei should be thankful that he wasn't the one standing on the platform. Twenty minutes later, they walked out with his new clothes, various unmentionables tucked in the bottom of the bag.

He was thankful to get out of there. Between Kakashi earning Madame's glare, and the mini-Malkin eyeing him up like a piece of candy cane, he was getting jumpy.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei…I need to go to the bookstore."

He finally looked up from the diary. "Why? You have a complete library at the manor."

"Nothing has been added to the library for the last twenty years. I want to see if there is anything new written about Veelas. I don't think I can read that diary you seem so fond of."

His teacher narrowed his exposed eye, looking him up and down, weighing his thoughts. The boy's utter calm that he displayed was nibbling on his mind, not to mention that his vocabulary seemed to have improved. He was more confident, poised, and read more. Naruto was also quieter, which should have been ringing warning bells weeks ago. More telling, Sasuke seemed to tolerate him more. His formerly loudest student was hiding something. "Why do you seem different?"

Smirking, the blond shrugged. "I just turned into some sort of desire creature?"

"No… that's not it."

Naruto smirked wider. He could pinpoint the exact moment when the truth hit Kakashi.

Burying his face in the palm of his hand, his Godfather groaned. "I should have known… They call me a prodigy, yet I never noticed the act."

"Hmmm. Sad to say, but Sasuke and Sakura figured it out before we extracted Kage." Naru-kun snorted. "Sasuke said that it was impossible for anyone to be as stupid as I pretended to be, but shut up when I reminded him about Kiba."

At this, Kakashi smirked back at him, "Are you sure that that's not an act?"

"Oh yeah. Next time your in Konoha, throw a bone in front of him, and see who get's it - Kiba or Akamaru. Usually, the dog outsmarts him."

The Cyclops couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Poor Kurenai, then. Oh well, at least she still has Hinata and Shino."

"Yeah… I just hope that Kiba is not the norm. It wouldn't do for Konoha's fo…"

"KONOHA!" A loud voice broke into their chatter, causing both Shinobi to look to the left. Standing there were two woman, one with long blond pigtails, the other a short black shag. Both held themselves like kunoichi. Even stranger, Kakashi seemed to recognize one of them.

"Tsunade-sama? What are you doing here?" He pulled Naruto over to them.

She blushed, looking like she wanted to crawl under a rock. "Kakashi! I never expected to find a familiar face so far from home! You wouldn't happen to know were we are, do you?" "London, England. How did you get here, if you didn't know where you were?" He was definitely confused. The brunette answered him.

"Tsunade-sama botched a jutsu." Shizune sighed. "I don't understand how, as she's never done that as long as I knew her." Kakashi smirked, raising a single eyebrow.


End file.
